Apparatus and method for sanitizing stethoscope heads

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for sanitizing a stethoscope head. The apparatus includes a housing, a reservoir disposed within the housing for containing the sanitizing fluid, one or more applicator pads mounted on the housing, and a dispensing valve for dispensing the sanitizing fluid from the reservoir onto the applicator pad.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/828,651 filed on Aug. 18, 2015 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/357,523 filed on May 9, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,138,500 which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 United States National PhaseApplication of, and claims priority to, PCT International ApplicationNo. PCT/US2012/064442 filed Nov. 9, 2012, which claims the benefit under35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/557,619filed on Nov. 9, 2011. The entire contents of both of the aforesaidapplications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Hospital-acquired infections are an issue in today's healthcare system.Such infections can lengthen hospital stays and increase health carecosts. Hospital-acquired infections have many causes, including thetransmission pathogenic microorganisms by contaminated medical devices.For this reason, the American Medical Association has passed aresolution recommending that stethoscopes (and other hand-held medicalinstruments) be cleaned between uses. See American Medical AssociationHouse of Delegates. Proceedings of the 50th Interim Meeting. Chicago,Ill.: American Medical Association; Dec. 8-11, 1996:398. A need remainsfor a fast, easy, and cost-effective way to clean and disinfectstethoscope heads between patient uses.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, by utilizing the various embodiments described herein,medical practitioners are able to quickly, easily, and cost-effectivelysanitize stethoscope heads between patient encounters at the point ofcare.

In one aspect, an apparatus is provided for dispensing a sanitizingfluid onto a stethoscope head. The apparatus includes a housing and areservoir disposed within the housing for containing the sanitizingfluid. One or more applicator pads are mounted on the housing forapplying the sanitizing fluid to the stethoscope head. A dispensingvalve for dispensing the sanitizing fluid from the reservoir onto theapplicator pads is also provided.

In another aspect, a method for sanitizing a stethoscope head comprisesdispensing a sanitizing fluid from a reservoir onto an applicator pad,applying the sanitizing fluid to the stethoscope head by placing thestethoscope head in contact with the applicator pad, and sanitizing thestethoscope head with the sanitizing fluid.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from consideration of the following descriptions and theappended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective/cut-away view of an apparatus fordispensing a sanitizing fluid onto a stethoscope head;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus seen inFIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are cross-sectional views of a depressible plunger valvefor dispensing sanitizing fluid;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are cross-sectional views of a slit valve for dispensingsanitizing fluid;

FIGS. 5a and 5b are alternate rear views illustrating various mounts forthe apparatus seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting a method for sanitizing a stethoscopehead; and

FIGS. 7a-7c are cross-sectional views, similar to FIG. 2, showing astethoscope being sanitized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure is directed to an apparatus and method for sanitizing astethoscope head. Utilizing the principles disclosed herein, medicalpractitioners are able to quickly, easily, and cost-effectively sanitizestethoscope heads between patient uses at the point of care.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of an apparatus 10 fordispensing a sanitizing fluid onto a stethoscope head. The apparatus 10comprises, as its main components, a housing 20, a reservoir 40, one ormore applicator pads 50, and a dispensing valve 60 for dispensing thesanitizing fluid from the reservoir 40 onto the one or more applicatorpads 50.

The housing 20 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as having a rectangular shape.In this embodiment, the housing 20 has a front wall 22, a back wall 24,and side walls, including a top wall 26, a bottom wall 28, a left wall32, and a right wall 34. However, as one having ordinary skill in theart will readily understand, the housing 20 may have any suitable shape.

The reservoir 40 is disposed within the housing 20 and is configured tocontain the sanitizing fluid. In FIG. 1, the upper left corner of thehousing 20 is cut away to reveal the reservoir 40 inside the housing 20.In some embodiments (not shown), the walls of the housing 20 itselfdefine the reservoir 40. In these embodiments, the supply of sanitizingfluid may be replenished by pouring additional sanitizing fluid into thehousing 40 through an aperture (not shown).

In other embodiments, the reservoir 40 is a separate container insidethe housing 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the reservoir 40 may bea bag 42 within which the sanitizing fluid is contained. In theseembodiments, the supply of sanitizing fluid may be replenished byreplacing an empty bag 42 with a new bag 42 full of sanitizing fluid.

The one or more applicator pads 50 are mounted on the housing 20 and areconfigured to apply the sanitizing fluid to the stethoscope head. In theapparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, an applicator pad 50 is mounted on thefront wall 22 of the housing 20. However, the applicator pad 50 may bemounted on any other wall or walls of the housing 20.

In some embodiments, the applicator pad 50 is constructed from a porous,absorbent material configured to absorb the sanitizing fluid. Forexample, the applicator pad may be constructed from a cloth material, acellulose sponge material, a synthetic polymer sponge material, or anyother suitably porous and absorbent material.

In some embodiments, the applicator pad 50 has a thickness sufficient toabsorb an effective quantity of sanitizing fluid to sanitize astethoscope head. The effective quantity of sanitizing fluid may differdepending on the particular sanitizing fluid used with a given apparatus10.

In one embodiment, the applicator pad 50 is configured to facilitate theapplication of sanitizing fluid to the diaphragm D and/or the bell B ofa stethoscope head S. Thus, the applicator pad 50 may have asubstantially planar portion 52, shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7b , forapplying the sanitizing fluid to the flat surface of the diaphragm D ofthe stethoscope head S. The applicator pad 50 also may have adome-shaped portion 54 for applying the sanitizing fluid to the insideof the bell B of the stethoscope head S. The dome-shaped portion 54 isconfigured in a rounded shape suitable to extend into the bell B of astethoscope head S. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7c , thedome-shaped portion 54 may have a substantially hemi-spherical shape,with a radius between about 0.50 and about 1.00 cm, permitting thedome-shaped portion 54 to extend into the bell B. In other embodiments,the applicator pad 50 is configured to accommodate alternately shapedstethoscope heads or other devices.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substantially flat portion 52 and thedome-shaped portion 54 of the applicator pad 50 may be disposedadjacently to one another on the housing and may be formed from a singlepiece of porous, absorbent material, defining a single applicator pad50. In other embodiments, the substantially flat portion 52 and thedome-shaped portion 54 may be formed from separate pieces of porous,absorbent material, defining more than one applicator pad 50, and/or maybe disposed on non-adjacent portions of the housing 20.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus 10 also includes adispensing valve 60 for dispensing the sanitizing fluid from thereservoir 40 onto the applicator pad 50. In one embodiment, thedispensing valve 60 has a dispensing state and a non-dispensing state,and is configured to dispense the sanitizing fluid from the reservoir 40onto the applicator pad 50 only when the dispensing valve 60 is in thedispensing state. Particularly, the dispensing valve 60 is configured todispense the sanitizing fluid from the reservoir 40 onto the applicatorpad 50 when pressure is applied to the applicator pad 50. For example,the dispensing valve 60 may be configured to deliver an aliquot ofsanitizing fluid to the applicator pad 50 when a stethoscope head isplaced or pushed in contact with the applicator pad 50. In oneembodiment, the dispensing valve 60 is configured to deliver asufficiently large aliquot of sanitizing fluid to saturate theapplicator pad 50 with the sanitizing fluid.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, where the applicator pad 50 includes asubstantially planar portion 52 and a dome-shaped portion 54, thedispensing valve 60 may be configured to dispense the sanitizing fluidindependently onto the substantially planar and dome-shaped portions 52and 54 of the one or more applicator pads 50. In other words, thedispensing valve 60 may be configured to dispense the sanitizing fluidonto the substantially planar portion 52 without dispensing sanitizingfluid onto the dome-shaped portion 54, and vice versa. For example, ifthe diaphragm of a stethoscope head is placed in contact with thesubstantially planar portion 52 of the applicator pad 50, the dispensingvalve 60 may dispense the sanitizing fluid onto the substantially planarportion 52, but not onto the dome-shaped portion 54.

In FIG. 2, the dispensing valve for dispensing the sanitizing fluid fromthe reservoir 40 onto the applicator pad 50 is shown schematically asbox 60. Thus, it will be understood that the dispensing valve 60 may beany suitable valve known in the art for controllably delivering aliquotsof a fluid. For example, the dispensing valve 60 may be a mechanicalpump, such as a pump that discharges the sanitizing fluid upon thedepression of a plunger, or an electric pump powered by direct oralternating current. The dispensing valve 60 may also be a plurality oforifices or valves in a deflectable wall portion of the housing. In oneembodiment, the dispensing valve 60 is configured to dispense sanitizingfluid onto the applicator pad 50 when pressure is applied to theapplicator pad 50. However, the dispensing valve 60 may also beconfigured to dispense the sanitizing fluid onto the applicator pad 50in response to mechanical or electrical signals received from a remoteinput device, e.g., a lever or button (not shown) provided elsewhere onthe housing.

In one exemplary embodiment, shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b , the dispensingvalve for dispensing sanitizing fluid is a depressible plunger valve 61disposed behind the applicator pad 50. The depressible plunger valve 61comprises a plunger portion 62 and a wall portion 63. The wall portion63 may be unitarily formed with or attached to one of the walls of thehousing 20 (e.g., the front wall 22). In the non-dispensing state, shownin FIG. 3a , the plunger portion 62 fills an orifice in the wall portion63, preventing sanitizing fluid from flowing through the orifice ontothe applicator pad 50. As shown in FIG. 3b , when pressure is applied tothe applicator pad 50, such as by placing a stethoscope head S incontact with the applicator pad 50, the plunger portion 62 is depressed,providing passages 64 for the sanitizing fluid to flow from thereservoir to the applicator pad 50 (i.e., the dispensing state). Thedarkened shading of the applicator pad 50 in FIG. 3b indicates that theapplicator pad 50 has been wetted with the sanitizing fluid. The plungerportion 62 may be spring-loaded to remain in the orifice, such that theplunger valve 61 is biased toward the non-dispensing state.

In another exemplary embodiment, shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b , thedispensing valve for dispensing sanitizing fluid is a slit valve 65. Theslit valve 65 comprises a deflectable wall portion 66 and a slit 67. Thedeflectable wall 66 may be unitarily formed with or attached to one ofthe walls of the housing 20 (e.g., the front wall 22). In thenon-dispensing state, shown in FIG. 4a , the deflectable wall 66 liessubstantially in a plane, and the slit 67 is closed, preventingsanitizing fluid from flowing onto the applicator pad 50. As shown inFIG. 4b , when pressure is applied to the applicator pad 50, such as byplacing a stethoscope head S in contact with the applicator pad 50, thedeflectable wall 66 is deflected out of the plane, causing the slit 67to open and allowing sanitizing fluid to flow from the reservoir to theapplicator pad 50 (i.e., the dispensing state). The darkened shading ofthe applicator pad 50 in FIG. 4b indicates that the applicator pad 50has been wetted with the sanitizing fluid.

Referring now to FIGS. 5a and 5b , the apparatus 10 may further comprisea mount 70 for mounting the apparatus 10 on a variety of supportingstructures, such as a wall or piece of furniture. In one embodiment, themount 70 is configured for wall-mounting of the apparatus 10 anddisposed on the back wall 24 of the housing 20. One particularconstruction employs one or more slots 72 in the back wall 24 of thehousing 20. The slots 72 may be configured for mounting the apparatus 10on one or more nail or screw heads, such as for mounting the apparatus10 on a wall. As such, the slots 72 may be key-hole slots and have arounded lower portion 74 for accepting the nail or screw head throughthe slot 72 and a narrow upper portion 76 for sliding over the shaft ofthe nail or screw positioned therein.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 5b , the mount 70 may be aspring-loaded clip 78 attached to the back wall 24 of the housing 20.The clip 78 permits the apparatus 10 to be removably mounted on anobject of furniture, such as a bed frame, at the point of care. The clip78 may also be used to mount the apparatus 10 on a medicalpractitioner's clipboard or allow it to double as a clipboard.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a method 100 for sanitizing a stethoscope headis provided. As indicated in box 102, the method 100 comprises providingan apparatus 10 for dispensing a sanitizing fluid. The apparatus 10 maybe constructed in accordance with the presently disclosed apparatus, asdescribed above. Thus, the apparatus 10 may comprise a housing 20, areservoir 40 disposed within the housing 20 and containing thesanitizing fluid, one or more applicator pads 50 mounted on the housing10, and a dispensing valve 60 for dispensing the sanitizing fluid fromthe reservoir 40 onto the one or more applicator pads 50.

The sanitizing fluid contained in the reservoir 40 of the apparatus 10may be any fluid known in the art to be suitable for disinfectingsurfaces. For example, the sanitizing fluid may be an alcohol-baseddisinfectant, a benzalkonium chloride-based disinfectant, or any otherfluid suitable for disinfecting surfaces. A benzalkonium chloride-baseddisinfectant, known as the surfactant, allantoin, and benzalkoniumchloride (“SAB”) disinfectant has been described previously. See, e.g.,David L. Dyer et al., Testing a New Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer toCombat Infection, 68 AORN J. 239 (1998), the entire contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the sanitizingfluid is an alcohol-based disinfectant, such as an ethanol- orisopropanol-based disinfectant, or any other suitable alcohol-baseddisinfectant.

As indicated in box 104, and as illustrated in FIG. 7a , during use ofthe apparatus 10, sanitizing fluid is dispensed from the reservoir ontothe applicator pad 50. The darkened shading of the applicator pad 50 inFIG. 7a indicates that the applicator pad 50 is saturated withsanitizing fluid. In some embodiments, where the dispensing valve 60 ispressure-activated, the sanitizing fluid is dispensed onto theapplicator pad 50 when a medical practitioner applies pressure to theapplicator pad 50 with a stethoscope head.

As indicated in box 106, and as illustrated in FIGS. 7b and 7c , apractitioner applies the sanitizing fluid to the stethoscope head S byplacing the stethoscope head S in contact with the applicator pad 50.When the stethoscope head S is placed in contact with the applicator pad50, the sanitizing fluid is transferred from the applicator pad 50 tothe stethoscope head S. In some cases, it may be necessary to draw thestethoscope head S across the applicator pad 50 or to compress theapplicator pad 50 with the stethoscope head S to squeeze the sanitizingfluid out of the applicator pad 50 and onto the stethoscope head S.Where the dispensing valve 60 is pressure-activated, the pressure of thestethoscope head S against the applicator pad 50 activates thedispensing valve 60 to dispense additional sanitizing fluid from thereservoir 40 onto the applicator pad 50.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7b and 7c and mentioned above,the applicator pad 50 has a substantially planar portion 52 for applyingthe sanitizing fluid to the diaphragm D of the stethoscope head S andhas a dome-shaped portion 54 for applying the sanitizing fluid to theinside of the bell B of the stethoscope head S. In these embodiments,the sanitizing fluid is applied to the diaphragm D by placing thediaphragm D in contact with the substantially planar portion 52, and thesanitizing fluid is applied to the bell B by placing the bell B incontact with the dome-shaped portion 54 (i.e., by placing the bell Bover the dome-shaped portion 54, such that the dome-shaped portion 54extends into the bell B).

As indicated in box 108, after contacting the stethoscope S with thesanitizing fluid, the practitioner allows the sanitizing fluid to remainin contact with the diaphragm D or bell B for a time sufficient tosanitize the stethoscope head. Where the sanitizing fluid is analcohol-based disinfectant, the sanitizing fluid sanitizes thestethoscope head as it evaporates. In one embodiment, in order to avoidcontaminating the sanitized stethoscope head, the medical practitionerdoes not warm the stethoscope on their hand after sanitization.

While the present apparatus and method have been described in terms ofcertain particular embodiments, it will be understood that the apparatusand method are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, as those havingskill in the art may make various modifications without departing fromthe scope of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for santizing a stethoscope head having adiaphragm and a bell, the method comprising: providing an apparatusconfigured to apply a sanitizing fluid to the stethescope head, theapparatus comprising: a housing shaped to retain a sanitizing fluid; andan applicator pad connected to the housing and in selective fluidcommunication with the sanitizing fluid, the applicator pad comprising araised portion having a substantially hemi-spherical shape configured toat least partially extend into an interior region of the bell of thestethoscope head when the bell is placed against the raised portion;dispensing the santizing fluid from the housing and unto the applicatorpad, the applicator pad formed from a porous, absorbent material thatabsorbs the sanitizing fluid when the sanitizing fluid dispenses out ofthe housing and onto the applicator pad; and applying the sanitizingfluid to the bell of the stethoscope head by placing the interior regionof the bell against the raised portion of the applicator pad.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: pushing the stethescope headagainst the applicator pad; and dispensing the sanitizing fluid from thehousing and onto the applicator pad by virtue of pushing the stethescopeagainst the applicator pad.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theapplicator pad further comprises a substantially-planar portion, themethod further comprising: applying the sanitizing fluid to thediaphragm of the stethoscope head by placing the diaphragm in contactwith the substantially-planar portion of the applicator pad.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein dispensing the sanitizing fluid from thehousing and onto the applicator pad by virtue of pushing the stethescopeagainst the applicator pad comprises dispensing the sanitizing fluidonto either one of the raised portion or the substantially-planarportion of the applicator pad without dispensing the sanitizing fluidonto the other one of the raised portion or the substantially-planarportion.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising forming the raisedportion and the substantially-planar portion of the applicator pad froma single piece of the porous, absorbent material.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a reservoir formed by thehousing for retaining the sanitizing fluid, wherein dispensing thesantizing fluid from the housing and unto the applicator pad comprisesdispensing the santizing fluid out of the reservoir through one or morepassages formed through a deflectable wall portion of the housing whenthe deflectable wall portion is deflected.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising, prior to applying the santizing fluid to the bell ofthe stethoscope head, placing the bell of the stethoscope head over thethe raised portion of the applicator pad.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the porous, absorbent material of the applicator pad comprisesat least one of a cloth material, a cellulose sponge material, or asynthetic polymer sponge material.
 9. A method for santizing a stehocopehead having a diaphragm and a bell, the method comprising: providing anapparatus configured to apply a sanitizing fluid to the stethescopehead, the apparatus comprising: a housing shaped to retain a sanitizingfluid; and an applicator pad connected to the housing and in selectivefluid communication with the sanitizing fluid, the applicator padcomprising a raised portion having a substantially hemi-spherical shapeconfigured to at least partially extend into an interior region of thebell of the stethoscope head when the bell is placed against the raisedportion; pushing the stethescope head against the applicator pad;dispensing the sanitizing fluid from the housing and onto the applicatorpad by virtue of pushing the stethescope against the applicator pad; andapplying the sanitizing fluid to the bell of the stethoscope head byplacing the interior region of the bell against the raised portion ofthe applicator pad.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprisingforming the applicator pad from a porous, absorbent material thatabsorbs the sanitizing fluid when the sanitizing fluid dispenses out ofthe housing and onto the applicator pad.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein forming the applicator pad from the porous, absorbent materialcomprises forming the porous, absorbent material from at least one of acloth material, a cellulose sponge material, or a synthetic polymersponge material.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising, prior toapplying the sanitizing fluid to the bell of the stethoscope head,placing the bell of the stethoscope head over the raised portion of theapplicator pad.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the applicator padfurther comprises a substantially-planar portion, the method furthercomprising applying the sanitizing fluid to the diaphragm of thestethoscope head by placing the diaphragm in contact with thesubstantially-planar portion of the applicator pad.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein dispensing the sanitizing fluid from the housing andonto the applicator pad by virtue of pushing the stethescope against theapplicator pad comprises dispensing the sanitizing fluid onto either oneof the raised portion or the substantially-planar portion of theapplicator pad without dispensing the sanitizing fluid onto the otherone of the raised portion or the substantially-planar portion.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising forming the raised portion andthe substantially-planar portion of the applicator pad from a singlepiece of material.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the apparatusfurther comprises a reservoir formed by the housing for retaining thesanitizing fluid, wherein dispensing the santizing fluid from thehousing and to the applicator pad comprises dispensing the santizingfluid out of the reservoir through one or more passages formed through adeflectable wall portion of the housing when the deflectable wallportion is deflected.